Venue Coordinator vs. Wedding Coordinator

I am going to start off by saying not every Venue Coordinator is the same. I know many Venue Coordinators who also wear the “Wedding Coordinator” hat. But, after coordinating events for over 7 years I truly feel Venue Coordinators appreciate anytime a couple hires a Wedding Coordinator!

Many venues come with an on-site coordinator. This coordinator works for the venue. Their job starts at either the ceremony if it is on site or at the cocktail hour. You may not even meet this coordinator until your final walk through the week of the wedding. He or she is there to be the point of contact between the bride and the venue staff. They are there to make sure that basic venue facilities, as agreed upon explicitly and contractually, are available to you and your guests.

As a Wedding Coordinator, I think of myself as the couples personal assistant or “voice” the day of. After years of dreaming of the best day of your life, the last thing you want to happen is having your shuttle don’t arrive on time/your favorite pictures of your grandparents wasn’t displayed/your photographer missed part of your first dance because they were in the bathroom/or your DJ isn’t playing music requested. Many Venue Coordinators do not work as closely with your individual vendors, they generally are not as involved with the small details of the planning that a Wedding Coordinator will be. ⠀⠀

What a Venue Coordinator Does

Here’s what you can expect from your venue coordinator in most cases:
Your venue coordinator essentially works for the venue. He or she is there to be the point of contact between the bride and the venue staff. She is there to make sure that basic venue facilities, as agreed upon explicitly and contractually, are available to you and your guests. This could include the parts of the venue being hired for your event, the overnight rooms you booked for yourself and your guests, catering (if part of the venue package) and basic reception room set up (ONLY if tables and chairs are included in the venue package).
Your venue coordinator might be working on multiple events that day. A super important fact to bear in mind is that if you are getting married at a venue that hosts multiple events over a weekend, or even multiple events in a day, the venue coordinator is not going to be focused solely on you until all other events at the venue have ended. That means that if you’re having an evening reception at a venue which is hosting a morning event too, your venue coordinator is going to be on-site overseeing the first morning event until its reception ends, possibly mid-afternoon. He or she will likely NOT be available for questions or assistance until then, and you might become super stressed wondering why your decor has not yet been unpacked or, even worse still, when the morning event is vacating the ballroom you booked so that you can access it!

Your venue coordinator is there to protect the interests of the venue and honor your contact. This includes making sure you receive all the above-mentioned deliverables according to your agreement, and that you, in turn, adhere to the contract guidelines too. If the venue is also the caterer and bar provider, the venue coordinator will be there to make sure that the food is served at the time agreed upon in your contract, and that any pre-arranged drinks limit is not exceeded at the bar.
They also make sure that no outside suppliers or vendors break the venue’s rules. They look at where, how and when these vendors may set up additional lighting, where they may or may not hang drapery or suspended decor, make sure that anything attached to ceilings or the building’s exterior causes no damage, and ensure that the parameters of any additional outdoor dance floors, bars, marquee tents, or scaffolding being sourced externally by yourself meet the venues requirements, causing no damage to the property. They are there to make sure that the DJ’s sound system is set at an acceptable level, but not to make sure that the correct playlist is adhered to.
They are not there to coordinate between your florist and your lighting people to ensure that any approved lighting is set according to your requirements, or to double check that the peony arrangements on the table are in rose gold vases instead of blush.

What an Venue Coordinator Does Not Do:

These are the things that your venue coordinator is most likely not going to oversee:
The venue coordinator is not going to set up your event decor. They might make a room available for you to store your decor, but they’re not going to make your tables look beautiful or add your ruffled chair covers or even place the cute favors you painstakingly decided upon at each place setting. They’re not going to be responsible for anything other than making sure the actual tables, chairs and dinnerware are set. They’re not going to set up your flowers, name cards, or even place your table numbers on the tables. This would be the job of a event planner to oversee, or something you would need to take care of personally.

The venue coordinator is not going to oversee that outside vendors do their job. Even though you might have shared your color scheme and flower choices with your venue coordinator, they are not going to check that the tablecloths you arranged with a third party hiring company are the correct fabric or shade upon arrival. They are not going to make sure that bouquets you ordered are the correct size or contain the correct flowers. They are not going to make sure that the DJ plays the requested song as you enter the reception hall, or that the DJ even arrives on time at all. All of these functions would be overseen by a event planner who has been working with you, or by yourself.
The venue coordinator is not going to assist you with your dress fittings, hair, make-up selection and bridesmaids attire. Dress fittings, sourcing of bridesmaid dresses and fabrics, coordination of accessories, and the finding of a professional, talented hair and make-up artist all fall way outside the realm of a venue coordinator’s responsibilities. If you want guidance and help in this area, you’ll absolutely need a event planner. Possibly even a event stylist, if you’re feeling extra fancy! Of course, you could also totally handle this yourself, if you have the time to research, plan and interview vendors. The important thing is that you at least know what you’re getting and aren’t surprised when you realize that your coordinator isn’t going to be there for these parts.
The venue coordinator is not going to make sure that your carefully plotted event timeline is adhered to. With the exception of deliverables that the venue is explicitly providing, such as serving of meals and access to the agreed upon areas, the venue coordinator is not obligated to make sure that things are happening smoothly and according to schedule. Is hair and make-up taking longer than expected? Are one of the bridesmaids missing in action looking for the flower girl who’s mom is late? Is the ceremony decor set-up running way behind schedule? Are the first look photographs taking too long? Here a event planner is pretty much a life saver, acting as a behind the scenes director, making sure that all the players know their parts, and that they are on cue, too. If you have a super organized Maid of Honor, she could step in here too, however she might not have the experience and you might want her by your side during these precious moments instead of running around trying to fix things all day.

The venue coordinator is not going to help with unforeseen issues that arise on the day. Did the lace of your gown get caught in the zipper and tear? Has a relative had too much champagne, making a scene at the reception? Did you remember to bring your bouquet to the reception hall for the bouquet toss? Is your maid of honor feeling ill? Is the DJ playing an explicit rap song that you forgot to have excluded from the playlist? There are so many things that are non-venue related that can go wrong. Having a event planner there by your side can help take the stress out of these moments if you need them to. Of course, in the bigger scheme of things, these events generally turn out to be some of the funniest memories of the day, and as long as you and your fiancée both wind up married at the end of it all, you’re okay. Mission accomplished!

Event Venue Coordinator Checklist:

DOES

• Show you around the venue

• Arrange menu tastings if the venue provides catering

• Act as point of call between yourself and the venue staff

• Ensure basic setup of tables and chairs is fulfilled if included in contract

• Ensure on-site food and drinks are served correctly and as agreed, if catering is included in contract

• Ensure there is no damage to the venues property by yourself or third party vendors you bring in

DOES NOT

• Does not set up third party decor.

• Does not set up third party dessert stands or cake stands.

• Does not stay till end of event reception. Leaves after meals have been served.

• May not be available the entire day, if overseeing multiple events that weekend

• Does not liase between your third party vendors to ensure that things run smoothly